The Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon is a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

held annually in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

on the Sunday before

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monda ...

that links three cities of the

Phoenix Metropolitan Area The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix (known by most locals simply as “the Valley”) – is the largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the city ...

: Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe. The marathon race can be used to obtain a qualifying time for the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

. The race weekend also includes a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

, a

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, and a

5K run The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 me ...

. The competition attracts tens of thousands of runners each year; more than 32,000 competed in 2010. The prize money for winning either the men's or the women's marathon race is US$1,000. Like the original

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series is a collection of road running events owned and operated by the World Triathlon Corporation, IRONMAN Group's Competitor Group, part of Advance Publications. The series is known for lining race routes with live ban ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, it is organized by the IRONMAN Group, part of Wanda Sports Holdings. It was sponsored until 2015 by P. F. Chang's China Bistro.

History

The race was first held on , with 9,882 marathon finishers and 13,926 half marathon finishers in the inaugural event. The 2021 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

World record

The event is noted for the half-marathon world record set by

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

on January 15, 2006, who ran the second half of the marathon course in 58 minutes and 55 seconds. This part of the marathon course is slightly downhill, but is still within

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

requirements for world record status. Gebrselassie's record stood for a year, until it was lowered by two seconds on February 9, 2007 by

Samuel Wanjiru Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (10 November 1986 – 15 May 2011) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record time of 2:06:32; becoming the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon. He beca ...

Ras al-Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al A ...

Course

In prior years, both race courses started in Phoenix, however, in 2012 the courses were split. The start of the marathon is located in downtown Phoenix near the CityScape Plaza. The half marathon and newly added 10k start in Tempe. All races finish in the city of Tempe at the Tempe Beach Park. The event also includes wheelchair races starting 10 minutes and 5 minutes before the marathon and half-marathon races. The average start line temperature is around 40 °F (4 °C), and the average daily high temperature is between 50 °F and 70 °F (10 °C-21 °C). Along the route are over 40 high school cheerleading teams and 70 bands who perform for the runners. Later in the evening there is a concert held in Tempe for all the runners, volunteers and spectators.

Race records

Simon Bairu set a new men's race record for the half marathon, on January 17, 2010, with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 47 seconds which was well under the previous race record of 1 hour, 4 minutes, 35 seconds set by the late Ryan Shay in 2004. Deena Kastor set a new women's race record for the half marathon, also on January 17, 2010, with a time of 1 hour, 9 minutes, 43 seconds which also broke the state record.

Winners

Key: Course record (in bold)

Marathon

Half marathon

Wheelchair race

References

External links

Official website of the Rock n' Roll Arizona Marathon

Marathon route
{{RNR Series Recurring sporting events established in 2004 Marathons in the United States Sports in Phoenix, Arizona